Optimization in the Visual System

Abstract

In certain respects, much of the history of scientific thought can be viewed as the search for unifying theories. This quest is most explicit in the field of elementary particle physics, but even in general, the process of developing an underlying theory to account for empirical data, is, at its core, a coordinating, or unifying, process. From Dalton’s atomic theory to Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements, from Newton’s laws concerning the motion of earthly and heavenly bodies to Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism, the most fundamental of scientific theories have been the ones which consolidate a large body of evidence into beautifully elegant theoretical frameworks.